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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. root — of a plant
  4. net — in sport
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rock — a stone
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rock — music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. root — the cause
  16. net — after costs
  17. field — a subject
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. field — farmland
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — for sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. root — of a word
  24. coach — pulled by horses

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com